Reed Baer and John Burnham win the 60th Shields National Championship at Larchmont Yacht Club

Grace ahead during the 60th Shields National Championship © Doug Reynolds

Larchmont (NY) Yacht Club hosted the Shields Class National Championship regatta on Long Island Sound from September 19-21, 2024. Twenty-two boats were entered in the Championship, hailing from local fleets and Narragansett Bay to Monterey, CA, and Edgartown, MA. Over three days, the maximum eight races were sailed in conditions ranging from light and shifty breezes on the opening day to a clocking easterly with wind speeds in the high teens for the series' final race.

In the end, it was co-skippers Reed Baer and John Burnham, hailing from Newport's Ida Lewis Yacht Club and Fleet #9, winning their fourth Shields National Championship (2002, 2011, 2016). Aboard Shields #107 Grace with Baer and Burnham were Rachel Balaban, Mat Buechner, and Pete Schott and, with a 1-2-4-2-1-3-3 scoreline after seven races, Gracie's uncatchable lead allowed them to skip the final race to pack-up their boat early for the drive back to Rhode Island the next morning.

Second place was also locked up after seven races by another Narragansett crew comprised of Matt Hirsch, Tim Dawson, Mat Van Note, Scotty Innes-Jones, and Nate Frizell. The competition for the final podium spot tightened up during the final two races. In the end, it was Larchmont's Ward Young sailing with his brother Andrew, Mike O'Connor, Billy Rohman, and Ben Cesare. They settled that question in dramatic fashion, winning both of the two final heats. There was a sense of nostalgia in Young's podium position as he was sailing Shields #25 Checkmate, the lovely "Shields Green" boat that originally belonged to and was raced by Cornelius Shields himself, the originator of the Class, which Fred Werblow sailed for decades before he sold her to Ward.

Also fighting for that third-place finish were the Buzzards Bay crew of Ken Deyett, Carolyn Petie, Josh Johnson, Luke Celu, and Katie Collins, who finished fourth one point behind Young. The local Larchmont team of Rob Dailey, Com Crocker, Anna Tikhononova, Patrick Slattery, and Ryan Zupon, another four points back, finished fifth.

On the water, the courses were straight-forward windward-leewards, but the shifting north/north easterly breezes combined with tidal changes put a premium on solid tactics and consistent course management. Over the seven races, the top boats demonstrated that consistency. Baer and Burnham's lowest score was a fourth, having won two races, and Hirsch's low scores were a tenth and a fifth. These two crews "had their game on." However, there were another six boats in the hunt, each earning at least one top-three finish, showing that this was anyone's Championship to win.

Holding the 60th Shields National Championship was clearly a celebration for the host club. LYC member Cornelius Shields had the Shields boat designed in the early 1960s and worked tirelessly to create fleets around the country. He provided boats to the various maritime academies who would then charter them to local sailors during the summers. Shields Fleet #1 is located at Larchmont Yacht Club and continues to be one of the strongest fleets in the nation. It is the Club's most active one-design fleet.

However, this diamond anniversary Championship celebration could not have been possible without over a year of preparation by Event-Co-Chairs Doug Millar and Matt Tym and over 70 Club volunteers bringing the Championship to life. Long-time Newport Shields sailor Peter Gerard traveled to Larchmont to serve as Co-PRO with LYC's Cynthia Parthemos, and a full jury was on the water observing the event from the signal boat, Satan's Toe. In addition, scores of onshore volunteers staffed the registration and hospitality desk, helped traveling boats get into and out of the water, and manned the Race Committee.

"For Matt and me, this regatta has been like having a second job for the past year. Our attention to every detail from logo design & crew gear, awards, sponsorship, housing visiting crews to our 60s throwback tie-dye shirts BBQ Thursday night made this a Championship to remember," noted Doug Millar. Matt Tym added, "Without the total cooperation of the Club's professional marine facilities and house staff, and the generous support of our sponsors McMichael Yacht Yards & Brokers and Carlsberg Beer, this could have been just another regatta. Instead, this weekend of racing and shoreside camaraderie will be remembered and talked about for years."

Shields National Winners - Crew of Grace - Cornelius Shields IV in center - photo © Kate Millar

Given the historical link between the Shields boat, the Shields Class, and Larchmont Yacht Club, it was only befitting that LYC hosts this diamond anniversary Championship. Adding to the nostalgia at Saturday night's awards ceremony Carol Shields, Corny Shields daughter-in-law, was on-hand as was her son Corny IV who flew in from Montana for the event with his four-year-old son Corny V.

LYC Commodore Steve Leicht summed up LYC's approach to this and other regattas, saying, "It is in our Club's Mission Statement, and our membership's DNA, that we host world-class regattas. That's what we're here for and why we do it so well! As such, it should come as no surprise that the Shields Class held its National Championship in our waters for the fifteenth time. Larchmont Yacht Club looks forward to 2030 when we will again host the Shields National Championship as we celebrate our Club's 150th Anniversary."

Overall Results: